Burglar-alarm for safes.



Patented May [3, I902.

I. J. EMORY.

BUBGLAR ALARM FOR SAFES.

(Application filed Dec. 16, 1901.)

(N0 Model.)

WITNESSES VENTOH BraeZJEmary ATT Patented May I3, l902.,

|. J. EMORY.

BURGLAR ALARM FOR SAFES.

(Application filed Dec. 16, 1901.)

(No Model.)

2 Sheets$heet 2.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIcE.

ISRAEL JENISON EMORY, OF XVAVERLY, OHIO.

BURGLAR-ALARM FOR SAFES.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent NO. 700,027, dated May 13, 1902.

Application filed December 16. 1901. Serial No. 86,091. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known thatl, ISRAEL JnNIsoN EMORY, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Waverly, in the county of Pike and State of Ohio, have inventednew and useful 1mprovements in Burglar-Alarms for Safes, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to improvements in burglar-alarms for safes, vaults, and depositories of valuables; and the object that l have in view is the provision of improved means for automatically sounding an alarm when a burglar or other unauthorized person approaches the safe or vault with the object of surreptitiously opening the same.

Further objects are to provide a protected passage-way or approach to the door of a safe or vault, to provide for holding the devices inoperative during business hours or when the alarm-actuating mechanism is to be set in condition for service, and to simplify the construction and promote the efficiency of operation.

-With these ends in view the invention consists in the combination and construction and arrangement of parts, which will be heroinafter further described and claimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forminga part of this specification,

in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a vertical section through my improved burglar-alarm in operative relation to a safe, which is shown in elevation, the alarm-actuating mechanism beingillustrated in its operative position. Fig. 2 is another sectional elevation showing the alarm-actuating mechanism in its set position, omitting a portion of the safe and including one form of audible-alarm mechanism. Fig. 3 isa longitudinal detail section in the plane of the dotted line 3 3 of Fig. 5. Fig. 4: is a vertical transverse section taken in the plane of the dotted line at 4 of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a sectional plan view in a plane below the movable platform, the plane of the section being indicated by the dotted line 5 5 of Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a vertical detail cross-section in the plane of the dotted line 6 6 of Fig. 1.

In carrying my invention into practice I provide a protected passage-way that leads to the door 5 of a safe, vault, or other receptacle 6, which is designed for the safe storage of valuables of any kind. The alarm-actuating mechanism is housed or contained with in a chamber 7, which is formed by the side walls 8 and the front wall 9 of a casing. This casing is secured firmly to the door in front of the safe or vault door, and the top of the casing is formed by a platform 10, the same being movably supported in the casing and closing the upper open side thereof. This platform is disposed in a horizontal position and in a plane below the door 5 of the safe or vault (5, and said platform forms the floor of the protected or covered passage-way which leads to the vault-door. The sides of said protected passage-way are formed by the walls 11, which extend above the platform 10 and which may form continuations of the side walls 8 of said casing. These side walls 11 are preferably of steel, and over the walls are disposed the arched guards 12, having the legs 13, which terminate in the feet 14, the latter being secured firmly to the floor on opposite sides of the casin g. These guards are also of steel, and any suitable number of the guards may be employed between the front door 15 and the safe or vault G, a series of such guards being shown by Figs. 1 and 5. The front door 15 closes the approach to the passage-way and is hinged, as at 15, to one of the side walls.

16 designates a series of shortposts, which are firmly secured to the floor within the chamber 7 and which are provided with up- .per threaded ends adapted to receive the nuts 17. These posts are disposed within the casing near the corners of the platform 10, and said posts receive the cushion-springs 18, which are seated upon the nuts 17 and are adapted to sustain the weight of the platform 10. These springs are of sufficient strength to hold the platform in a given horizontal position; but the tension of the springs may be regulated by adjusting the nuts 17 on the posts 16.

The platform 10 is confined in' place at its rear end by slidable devices located near the door 5 of the safe or vault, and these devices consist, preferably, of guideways 19 and the hinge rods or pintles 20. The guideways are in the form of slotted boxings, which are sccured to the side walls 8 of the casing, near the rear portion thereof, and these boxings receive the rods or pintles 20, as shown by Figs. 2 and 4, whereby the rear edge of the platform is hinged to the casing, and the platform is capable of a limited movement in a vertical direction under the weight of a person resting or walking on the plat-form.

2t designates a rock-shaft arranged in a horizontal position within the casing and journaled in suitable bearing-posts This rock-shaft.- is provided near one end with a forwardly-extendingarm 23, to which isattached a suitable controlling-spring 2'. Near its other end the rock-shaft has a contact-arm 25, the same having a contact piece or button 26 on its under side, the latter being adapted to engage electrically with a stationary contact 27, which is provided on the iloor or base in the path of the movable contact 26, as shown by Figs. 1 and 2. An audible 'alarm mechanism 28 is included in an electric circuit, the conductors of which are indicated at 29, one of said conductors being connected to the contact 27 and the other conductor being electrically attached to one of the bearingposts 22, so that the post, the rock-shaft, and the arm will form a part of the electric circuit. Of course the circuit may be charged or energized by a current from a battery or other source of electric energy, and thealarm mechanism 28 may be of any suitable form or construction.

The rock-shaft 2t is provided at a point between the arms 25 with a toothed sector 30, and over this sector is arranged a locking-lever 31, the same having a downwardly-extending beak or nose 82, which is adapted to engage with one or the other of the teeth on the sector. The shaft 21 is furthermore provided with a thumb-piece 33, (see Figs. 8 and 5,) whereby the shaft may be pressed against the tension of the spring 2t to a position which will bring the teeth of the sector 30 opposite to the nose of the lever, and the movable circuit-contact 26 will be separated or disengaged from the other stationary contact 27. (See Fig. 1.)

The lever 31 is hung orfulcrumed at apoint intermediate of its length on an upstanding post 35, and to the short arm of this lever is attached the yieldable pressure-piece'ifitl, upon which is adapted to press or bear a stud or projection 37, which extends below the platform 10 and is attached thereto. The short arm of the lever St is adapted to be engaged with the notched end of a catch 38, that is pivoted at 39 Within the casing and is normally pressed by a spring 40 into the path of the short arm of the lever, whereby depression of the lever 31 will allow the catch 38 to snap into engagement therewith, thus holding the contacts 20 27 in engagement and closing the electric circuit, so as to operate the audible signal.

The lever 31 is provided at its rear free end with a ratchet-wheel 1-0, that is loosely mounted on the lever, and with this ratchet-wheel is adapted to engage the heal: or nose of a depending arm it, which is also attached to the platform 10, whereby if the platform is raised on its hinge afforded by the pintles 20 the arm tl will engage with one tooth of the ratchetwheel t0 and the nose of the lever 31 's raised from engagement with the sector 30, thus closing the circuit and sounding the alarm.

designates a trip-lever which is hung or fulcrumed atapointintermediate ofits length on a short post 13, and at its front end this lever is formed with an i'ipstanding projection it, which is disposed below a finger 4:5, attached to project rearwardly from the lever 3 The other end of the trip-lever 4-2 is furnished with an upstanding arm 1-5, which terminates below the hinge of the platform 10, and this lever is actedon by a spring elf so as to normally hold the parts in the position shown by Fig. 1. Any pressure applied to the rear hinged part of the platform depresses the latter against the tension of the rear springs 18, thus communicating move ment in a downward direction to the arm 15 and rocking the lever 1-2, the-projection all: of which is moved in an upward direction and acts against the finger -15 so as to raise the lever 31 and withdraw its beak from the sector 30, thereby closing the circuit and sounding the alarm.

t7designates a detent, which is hinged at its lower end, as at 18, adjacent to the front 9 of the casing and provided with an upper forked or slotted end at), said detent being normally held in place by a yieldable keeper 50. (See Figs. 5 and (3.) If it is desired to loci: the shaft 21 agaiustrotation and to render inoperative the alarm-actuating mechanism, the platform 10 is raised and the operator adjusts the deteut i? by hand, so that its forked end 4-9 will engage with the arm 23, said arm being held in the raised position i11- dicat'ed by dotted lines in Fig. 3. The door 15 is provided with a rearwardly-extending arm 51, to which is pivoted a dog 52, held in position by a spring 5 3, said dog being adapted to engage with a projection on the platform. When the door 15 is closed, the dog 52 engages with the projection 5t, whereby a pull on the door 15 causes the dog to ride over the projection and to exert pressure upon the front end of the platform, thus depressing the stud 37 into engagement with the pr ssurepiece 36, which acts on the short arm of the lever and withdraws its nose 32 from engage ment with the sector.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the drawings, it will be seen that I have provided a number of devices for the operation of the alarm-setting incchaulOO TIO

ism, said devices being arranged for actuation upon the application of pressure to either the front or rear ends of the platform or when the platform is lifted on the aXis afforded by the hinge-rod 20.

The casing may have its walls 8 and 9 constructed of steel plates, as represented by Figs. 1 to 6, inclusive.

The alarm mechanism 28 may be located in the offices or bed-room of the watchman, and the electric circuit may include-any suitable number of gongs. The conductors of the electric circuit may lead in a backward direction beneath the safe, and said conductors may be concealed in the floor and walls by any suitable means.

In order to hold the platform against depression during business hours and at other times, any suitable means may be employed, but I have shown one embodiment of such means in the turn-button 58, which is pivoted to the front 9 of the casing and is adapted to be turned to an upright position in order to engage with the front edge of the platform. Any suitable means may also be provided for holding the rear end of the platform against downward displacement.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. A device of the class described, having walls forming a closed passage-way leading to a safe or vault, a movable platform within said passage-way, an alarm mechanism controllable by the platform, a door arranged at the entrance to the passage-way, and means actuated by the opening of the door to depress the platform.

2. A device of the class described, comprising a protected passage-way, a movable floor therein, a door having a yieldable dog adapted to engage with said floor, and alarm devices controllable by said floor.

3. A device of the class described, having a passage-way leading to a safe or vault, a

platform therein, alarm devices actuated by the platform, a door at the entrance to the passage-way, and means actuated by opening the door to set the alarm devices into action.

4. In a device of the class described, the combination of a movable platform, a rockshaft having a sector, a lever engaging with said sector and controllable by the platform, and alarm devices actuated by movement of said rock-shaft.

5. In a device of the class described, the combination of a platform, a rock-shaft havin g a contact-arm engaged to make and break an alarm-circuit, a sector on the rock-shaft, and a lever adapted to engage with the sector.

6. In a device of the class described, the combination of a movable platform, a rockshaft having a spring-controlled arm,a detent arranged to engage with said arm, a sector on the rock-shaft, a lever arranged to engage with the sector, and alarm devices actuated by the rock-shaft.

7. In a device of the class described, the combination with a rock-shaft and a lever, of a platform, a trip-lever in operative relation to the platform and adapted to engage with the first-named lever, and alarm devices actuated by the rock-shaft.

8. In a device of the class described, the combination of a rock-shaft provided with a sector, a lever arranged to engage with the sector, a ratchet-wheel and a pressure-piece carried by said lever at opposite ends thereof, a hinged movable platform, cushioned devices for said platform, and means actuated by said platform to engage the pressure-piece or the ratchet-wheel and adapted to turn the rock-shaft so as to actuate said alarm devices.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ISRAEL JENISON EMORY.

Witnesses:

II. E. VoELKER, JNo. W. LONG. 

